I need a great pizza dough recipe. Can you help?

Answer 1

* 1 cup warm water
* 1 package active dry yeast
* 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine the water, yeast, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the oil, salt, and remaining flour. With large wooden spoon or your hands mix the ingredients together until the dough holds its shape. You may need a bit less flour, so add the last half gradually.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If the dough becomes sticky, sprinkle a bit more flour over it.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled 2-quart bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and let the dough rest until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
When the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured surface, divide it into two or more parts and roll them into balls. Cover them with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes. The dough is ready to be shaped, topped and cooked.

Answer 2

Perfect Pizza Dough
Kids can push, pull and twist this basic pizza dough all they want--the more you handle it, the better. Use it for pizza, breadsticks, calzones and even focaccia

Ingredients
1 cup Warm water
1 tsp. Sugar
1 1/4-oz. Packet active dry yeast
3 tbsp. Olive oil, plus extra for coating
2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp. Salt

Preparation
Place 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then sprinkle the yeast onto the surface of the water. Let the yeast float there for 1 minute, then stir it into the water. Let the yeast "proof" for 10 minutes. It should bubble a bit; if it doesn't, the yeast is outdated and inactive.


Pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl, then stir in the remaining water, and add the olive oil, flour and salt. With a wooden spoon, mix the dough until it forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.


Coat the inside of a large glass or ceramic bowl with olive oil. Press the ball of dough into the bottom of the bowl, then flip the dough over so the oiled side is on top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Makes 1 1/2 pounds of dough.


Cook's Notes
BAKING SHEETS VS. THE PIZZA STONE What you cook your pizza on affects its color, crispness and baking time. Generally, the darker the baking sheet, the darker and crisper your crust (and the shorter your cooking time). For the crispiest crust and shortest cooking time, use a pizza stone (about $30), which must preheat for 45 minutes. While it heats, assemble your pizza directly on a wooden "peel," or pizza paddle, sprinkled with cornmeal. Use the peel to transfer the pizza to the heated stone. FREEZING DOUGH To freeze pizza dough, punch it down once it has risen, place it in a zip-top bag and freeze it. When you need it, thaw it early in the day, then shape it once it is no longer cold. To freeze individual crusts, roll the dough and freeze the rounds on baking sheets, then remove and place them in plastic bags. When it is time to assemble the pizzas, simply apply the toppings to the frozen disks.

Answer 3

Jenny Gentile's Pizza Dough
1 package yeast
4 tablespoons water (not hot)
12 tablespoons water, cold
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
3 cups flour

In a cup dissolve 1 pack of yeast in 4 tablespoons of warm (but not hot) water.
Allow to proof (sit) for 10 minutes.
In another cup, mix together 12 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of honey.
Add the wet ingredients (cold stuff first) to 3 cups of flour and mix (I sometimes use a food processor, but you can use your hands.) Allow the dough to rise. Personally, I make the dough the night before I need it, put it in the refrigerator overnight, and let it rise the next day (all day.) But as long as you let it rise at least 2 hours, it should be OK.
6-10 servings 1 crust (12 inch thick or 14 inch thin)

Answer 4

Mitch's Pizza Dough Notes:
I know it's called "Basic Pizza Dough", but the only thing basic about it is how to make it. Most people say "this is the best crust I've ever had."

Many times with grocery store or take out pizza the edge of the crustis left on the plate. Well, that won't happen with this crust. Your family and friends are sure to eat the whole thing.

When all your friends ask you for the recipe, you can come to the top of this page and email it them at the click of a button (we figured this would save you a lot of time copying or printing it out. ;)

This dough is easiest to make in a food processor or bread maker. You can, however, make it by hand (there's just a lot of mixing and kneading that way). Feel free to add ingredients to the dough to make it more interesting. I've often added minced garlic or rosemary or basil. I've even added chopped peanuts for the Thai pizza. It's your pizza, be creative.





3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup warm water (between 95° and 115° F.)
2 T yeast (2 tablespoons, I like my dough a little yeasty. You can use less)
2 T honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt






You have three choices in mixing your dough:
In A Food Processor
In A Bread Machine
By Hand
Food Processor
Some food processors come with a dough blade. If you have it use it. If you don't, just use the standard cutting blade. My dough blade broke from over use (some would call it pizza abuse, but that's another story) and the regular blade works fine.
Pour in warm water. The water should be about 85 to 115° F. Test it with your hand. It should feel very warm, but comfortable. Add the honey and salt. Mix on low for about 20 seconds. Add the yeast and mix on low for another 5 seconds. Add 1 cup of flour, mix on low for 10 seconds. Add the olive oil and mix until blended (about 15 or 20 seconds more). Add the rest of the flour (and any other additions) and mix on high for about a minute or two. The dough should turn into a ball and roll around the processor. If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Adding water or flour as needed to get the right consistency will assure you always get a perfect dough. Just remember to do it in small amounts.

Once the dough is balled up, place the ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute. This builds the gluten which helps the dough to rise and become fluffy when cooked. Place the dough in a plastic grocery bag or a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise.

After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size. Show it who's the boss and punch it down. That's right, give it a good smack so it deflates. Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is now ready to be rolled out. You can punch the dough down one more time if you want and wait another hour or two before rolling out. The choice is yours.

You're now ready for the next step: Rolling out the dough!

This dough can also be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or so, or even frozen. Be sure to let the dough come to room temperature before using.

Bread Machine
Throw all the ingredients in, set to dough only setting, push start and walk away. That's it! No work, no hassle. If you don't work for something is it really worth having? In this case, you bet!
Once the machine "beeps" and your dough is ready, it's time to go on to the next step - Rolling Out The Dough.

This dough can also be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or so, or even frozen. Be sure to let the dough come to room temperature before using.

By Hand
Pour warm water into a bowl. The water should be about 85 to 115° F. Test it with your hand. It should feel very warm, but comfortable. Add the honey and salt. Mix on low until well blended. Add the yeast and mix. Let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of flour and the olive oil and mix until well blended. Add the rest of the flour (and any other additions) and mix well. The dough should turn into a ball. If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Adding water or flour as needed to get the right consistency will assure you always get a perfect dough. Just remember to do it in small amounts.
Once the dough is balled up, place the ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute. This builds the gluten which helps the dough to rise and become fluffy when cooked. Place the dough in a plastic grocery bag or a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise.

After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size. Show it who's boss and punch it down. That's right, give it a good smack so it deflates. Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is now ready to be rolled out. You can punch the dough down one more time if you want and wait another hour or two before rolling out. The choice is yours.

You're now ready for the next step: Rolling out the dough!

This dough can also be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or so, or even frozen. Be sure to let it come to room temperature before using.